Two Of Us
by whereagoodmangoestowar
Summary: Jemma & Fitz take a road trip to Perthshire
1. Chapter 1

The Quinjet touched down just outside of London. Jemma Simmons disembarked, rolled her suitcase on to the grass, and sat down on it. She was still a bit angry that Coulson wouldn't allow them to be dropped off closer to their destination. It would take a seven, no, eight hour drive to reach Perthshire. She assumed it was his way of getting back at her and Fitz for using all their vacation hours at once. But nevertheless, the when open road called, and Jemma Simmons would always answered.

Why were they there? Because Jemma had done something slightly stupid and incredibly misguided. She had bought a house. She had been scrolling through real estate listings, when she came across a cottage in Perthshire that was for sale. And even better, it was dirt cheap. So in a moment by romance fueled insanity, Simmons had bought a house which she had never laid eyes on. Fitz had found the whole thing rather hilarious, and made the offhand suggestion that they go to Scotland to see it. He never expected her to take him up on that offer. So here they were, in a field about 5 miles away from London, ready for a road trip.

Fitz rolled his suitcase down the ramp. He looked tired, even a bit anxious. Neither of them had taken a vacation in quite some time.

"So," he said, walking over to her. "What now?"

She scanned the piece of paper Coulson had handed her before their departure. "Well, it says that there should be a car here, with the keys in the ignition. Apparently Coulson borrowed it from one of his contacts in London." She looked up. "Sounds fancy."

They both looked towards the road. Fitz sighed. "Oh no…"

An old VW beetle was parked on the side of the dusty road. It was light blue, with some strips of rust on the side.

Simmons laughed. "Well, this ought to be interesting." She looked up at him. "Are you ready?"

He took her hand and grinned. "With you, I'm ready for anything."

She laughed. "Leo Fitz, you can really be a sap sometimes."

"That's my job."

Without further ado, they got into the car and started the long journey to Perthshire.


	2. Chapter 2

After a few miles, the problems started. Fitz had created a playlist for the trip. The car was old, and only took cassette tapes. This aggravated him quite a bit.

"Why the hell would Coulson give us a car without a proper stereo?" he said, with one hand on the wheel while he used the other one to gesture. They had agreed before they left the Playground that Fitz would drive, but Simmons was starting to feel a bit concerned about that decision. She was reading . She never got nauseous in cars, a rare talent which she prided herself in. She put down her book

"Just sing whatever song you wanted to play," she said.

"No Simmons, that's not how it works. I can't sing, I won't sing. You remember karaoke at the base. It was brutal!"

She was laughing now. "I won't judge, I promise."

He was shaking his head. "Fine, but you better appreciate this."

She tuned in her seat to look at him. A smile appeared on her face. She couldn't quite help it. He sighed. "Simmons, I can hear you smile. I won't sing if you laugh."

Suppressing a chuckle, she coughed. "Alright go."

He took a deep breath and, keeping his eyes on the road, began to sing. " _Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, but she doesn't have a lot to say. Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, but she changes from day to day. I wanna tell her that I love her a lot, but I gotta get a bellyfull of wine. Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, Someday I'm gonna make her mine. Oh, yeah, someday I'm gonna make her mine."_

Simmons grinned. He wasn't too good a singer, but the song was sweet. Fitz had always loved the beatles. "That was great," she said. She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He seemed startled, and the car swerved slightly.

"Jemma don't be so affectionate, unless you want me to crash this car!" She laughed.

The stopped for lunch in Northampton. Near the highway was a small restaurant, called the Bluebonnet Diner. The sat at a small table near the window.

"Hello and welcome, what will you be having today?" Their waiter asked.

She paused for a moment before gasping. "Look Fitz! Breakfast all day." She grinned. "I don't know about you but I'm getting pancakes."

He smiled. "I'll have what she's having."

They ate their pancakes. Outside, it began to rain. But inside, the air with filled with warmth and happiness. Fitz and Simmons talked about nothing in particular. They spoke of the weather, how it reminded them of home. They talked of the cottage, and how they hoped it looked. Then stopped talking, and just enjoyed each other's company in silence.

"Jemma," he said. "Have you ever thought about the butterfly effect?"

She waved her fork in an offhand motion. "Of course Fitz, who hasn't?"

"But have you ever really thought about? About how your choices, the little ones, not just the big ones, have affected everything?"

She paused and looked up. "I suppose not. What's there to think about?"

He looked out the window. "It's just.." He sighed, and leaned forward. "Every little decision we've ever made, every choice, has lead us to this point. We decided to join Shield. We chose go into the field. I chose to give you my last breath at the bottom of the ocean. You decided to not let me make that choice, and saved us both. You made the choice to leave the team, and Raina made a decision that lead you to return. It was you who decided not to give up on Maveth. And it was me who decided to do the stupid thing and go after you. All those thing, tiny and big, brought us to where we are now. One decision made differently and poof, everything changes." He looked back at her. "Do you ever think about that?"

"No, I don't," she said, holding his gaze. "I've worried about hypotheticals my entire life. But me loving you? That isn't a hypothetical. It is a constant, and would have happened no matter what. I'll bet anything." She took his hand. "Instead of worrying about what my life could have been, I'm just going to enjoy every moment of the life I have."

He smiled. "I love you, Jemma."

She smiled back. "I know, Leo."

And they sat like that, hand in hand, enjoying each other's warmth and the sound of the rain on the window pains.


	3. Chapter 3

They stopped in Sheffield for gas. Fitz filled up the tank while Jemma sat inside the car, with her feet on the dash. He got back in the car, and shut the door.

"Okay," he said. "Are you ready to hit the road."

She put her feet down. "We should do a snack run," she said

He nodded. The both entered the convenience store at the gas station. Jemma was glad she had remembered to exchange most of her cash for pounds in Leicester. Fitz bought a rain poncho as well, because they were both drenched after running from the diner to the car. As the got back into the car, the sun began to set. Fitz smiled at Jemma, and took her hand.

"I like this," she said.

He was confused. "What do you mean?"

She gestured to the open road. "Just… this. The two of us, on our own adventure.

He smiled. "I like that too."

She leaned in and kissed him. It was the best kind of kiss. The kind when both people are smiling, and the world seems okay. She stopped, and put her hand on his cheek. "You and me, we're going to be ok."

After a moment of shared silence, she adjusted herself and buckled her seatbelt. "Let's go."

"Wait," he said. He pulled out a cassette converter, and hooked up his phone to the stereo. The speaker suddenly roared to life.

" _Oh yeah, I'll tell you something_

 _I think you'll understand_

 _When I'll say that something_

 _I wanna hold your hand_

 _I wanna hold your hand_

 _I wanna hold your hand."_

Fitz hit the gas. He and Jemma sang along.

" _Oh please, say to me_

 _You'll let me be your man_

 _And please, say to me_

 _You'll let me hold your hand_

 _I'll let me hold your hand_

 _I wanna hold your hand"_

Then, about 30 miles later, they got a flat tire. They pulled over to the side of the road. They were near are large field, with a lake in the distance.

"What do you mean you didn't pack a spare?" Jemma yelled.

Fitz was frantically walking around, trying to get cell service. "I thought Coulson would give us a car with a spare tire! I thought he was thinking straight, apparently he wasn't."

She sighed. "Did you call the RAC?"

"Yeah, but just in case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of nowhere. They said they'll be here by morning." It was already dark, and getting darker by the minute.

They sat in the car for a few minutes, trying to get comfortable. After several sentences of terse silence, Simmons spoke.

"This is stupid. I'm going outside." She got up, and left the car.

Fitz sighed, and got out of the car. Simmons was searching through the trunk for something. "What are you doing?" He asked.

She pulled a blanket out of the trunk. "I'm not sleeping in the car." She set out the blanket, and lay down. He laid down next to her. They were quiet for a while.

"This isn't working," she said, and rolled over to face him. He grinned at her.

"Let's play a game to pass the time," he said. He pointed up at the sky. "What constellation is that?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fitz, you know I'm not an astronomer."

He propped himself up on one arm. "Yeah, well, we both took the same rudimentary astrophysics course. We should both know these things by now."

"Fine," she said. She thought for a moment, before saying. "Cassiopeia."

He laughed. "Wrong!" Cassiopeia's the one that looks like a crooked W. That's Cygnus"

She chuckled. "Well Mr. Astronomy Wiz, which one is that?" She pointed at the sky.

"Are you kidding me Jemma? That's easy! That's Orion."

She laughed, and rolled over to face him. "I never asked, what's your favorite Beatles song?"

He was silent for a moment. "I've Just Seen a Face. What about you?

She responded immediately. "In My Life."

He smiled. "Yous should sing it."

She laughed, loudly. "In your dreams, Fitz."

"I'm not joking! You never got laughed out of karaoke night, you don't have an excuse."

She smiled softly. "Alright, but don't laugh." She rolled over on her back and stared and the shining stars. Softly, she began to sing.

" _There are places I remember_

 _All my life though some have changed_

 _Some forever not for better_

 _Some have gone and some remain_

 _All these places have their moments_

 _With lovers and friends I still can recall_

 _Some are dead and some are living_

 _In my life I've loved them all_

 _But of all these friends and lovers_

 _There is no one compares with you_

 _And these memories lose their meaning_

 _When I think of love as something new_

 _Though I know I'll never lose affection_

 _For people and things that went before_

 _I know I'll often stop and think about them_

 _In my life I love you more."_

She rolled over and looked at him. He was staring at her like one stares at the night sky; with a look of wonder. He slowly pushed a strand of hair out of her face. She held his hand there.

"I love you, Fitz." She leaned in to kiss him.

"Wait," he said.

"What? Did I do something wrong."

He smiled. "No, not at all. You did everything right. I just… I need remember everything about moment in time. The way that stars look, the way the moon shines, the way your eyes meet mine. Right now, my life is perfect. I want to hold on to that. I-" She stopped him with a kiss.

When they broke apart, he laughed. "Well, that was rude. I was being poetic."

She laughed too. "Next time, get to the point faster."

He smiled. "I love you, Simmons."

She rolled over and looked up at the stars. "Love you too."

They slept. In the morning, the RAC showed up with a spare tire, and they continued on the long road to Perthshire.


End file.
